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jardine wrote: just heard the AFL despite having the asada report, may not come to a decision until after the season.

surely this is a joke?

they cannot be serious

Jardine, I think it is an interim report which has not made final recommendations as yet because the investigation is ongoing. What the AFL can do in looking in this report is make a judgement if Essendon has brought has the game into disrepute, which I think is a no brainer. Given the way that Essendons season is unravelling, the impact of this on the finals series may be minimal.

I'm still finding it hard to get my head around the general Esserden approach to this whole fiasco. Do they REALLY honestly believe that they've done nothing wrong? Evidence appears to be going against them day by day. Putting the legalities aside, don't they consider that sending your players across the road for injections that will supposedly make you better than the next team is unethical? Is that not tantamount to cheating within the rules, hence immoral and unethical? The Melbourne press will make sure they smell like roses in the press when this is over, but people have long memories.

58shark wrote: I'm still finding it hard to get my head around the general Esserden approach to this whole fiasco. Do they REALLY honestly believe that they've done nothing wrong? Evidence appears to be going against them day by day. Putting the legalities aside, don't they consider that sending your players across the road for injections that will supposedly make you better than the next team is unethical? Is that not tantamount to cheating within the rules, hence immoral and unethical? The Melbourne press will make sure they smell like roses in the press when this is over, but people have long memories.

Onfortuneatly MONEY and POWER rules all, thats the short answer 58. Alas i dont think people do have long memories. Its a bl00dy disgrace the whole thing

58shark wrote: I'm still finding it hard to get my head around the general Esserden approach to this whole fiasco. Do they REALLY honestly believe that they've done nothing wrong? Evidence appears to be going against them day by day. Putting the legalities aside, don't they consider that sending your players across the road for injections that will supposedly make you better than the next team is unethical? Is that not tantamount to cheating within the rules, hence immoral and unethical? The Melbourne press will make sure they smell like roses in the press when this is over, but people have long memories.

You're dealing with AFL royalty with Hird and Essendon. You can bet your bottom dollar if it was a scrubber club the AFL couldn't move quick enough to rip their license off them and fk them over good but not Essendon. Seems both the AFL and Essendon want to kick this can down the road until 1 Oct at a minimum.

If the rumours of Hird standing down by Thursday are true then that would suggest there's a smoking gun in the ASADA report that gives the AFL the license to sanction Essendon. But the atmospherics from the AFL suggest they're not in a huge rush to act.

There have been several people who have been removed from their positions at Essendon. My own personal opinion is that in the final analysis of what has happened that James Hird's position will be untenable and at some point in time a decision will be made where he no longer continues to be the coach of the Essendon Football Club.

I also suspect that there will be some major sanctions applied to the Essendon Football Club which will probably include loss of both points and draft picks. Speaking from a purely pragmatic position it would be in Essendon's interest for those loss of points to occur in the 2013 season rather than in the 2014 season. How unpalatable would it be for Essendon to play matches in 2014, Melbourne Storm style, and not be able to get points for winning games. Totally untenable for Essendon, their players and supporters, and the AFL and its competition.

Whilst Essendon may indulge in some bravado with the AFL they will be the ultimate losers if they choose to pick a fight with the AFL. The analogy would be to try to plead your case with the umpires. A fight you will never win.

anchorman wrote: I don't see how Essendon,Hird and a few other possibly coming out of this smelling like roses.
Though at the moment it seems like circumstantial evidence I think it is much deeper than that.
I saw in the paper where the one who allegedly wouldn't have the needles, has allegedly been involved with a banned performance enhancing drug.
Far too much dirt being thrown for a lot, if not most of it to be true.
Kero seems very close to what is happening and she is almost adamant that Hird will dive bomb as will many more and the club.
I think that they will make a decision before the finals.They have to to maintain any sort of credibility for the AFL.
Swan, I think that there will be far more than just points lost this season.I wouldn't be at all surprised if they are made to play next season, and not be able to play for points.Maybe even stop them from drafting and trading.

You've got the answer there anchor - Hird + Esserden + Melbourne press + Time = attar of roses.

anchorman wrote: I don't see how Essendon,Hird and a few other possibly coming out of this smelling like roses.
Though at the moment it seems like circumstantial evidence I think it is much deeper than that.
I saw in the paper where the one who allegedly wouldn't have the needles, has allegedly been involved with a banned performance enhancing drug.
Far too much dirt being thrown for a lot, if not most of it to be true.
Kero seems very close to what is happening and she is almost adamant that Hird will dive bomb as will many more and the club.
I think that they will make a decision before the finals.They have to to maintain any sort of credibility for the AFL.
Swan, I think that there will be far more than just points lost this season.I wouldn't be at all surprised if they are made to play next season, and not be able to play for points.Maybe even stop them from drafting and trading.

A/man as I said unlike the NRL when they prevented Melbourne Storm from for playing points I don't believe that would be a tenable punishment for the AFL and the Victorian footy public. Certainly the loss of draft picks will be on the table as a possible penalty.

Speaking of the Melbourne Storm it is remarkable that Gerard Whateley, who is usually so strident when it comes to criticism of things which he thinks are untoward, is so forgiving of a club which systematically broke the salary cap regime and is positively fawning when it comes to some of those Melbourne Storm players who benefited from the salary cap breaches.

Agreed A/M. If they are found to be guilty then the book should be thrown at them. They should be made an example of so no one even considers doing it ever again.

Ricciutto is adamant Hird will go by Thursday so if that happens inside next 30 hours, but he's stayed so far and deflected all SO FAR.

For mine he is a wolf in sheeps clothing on 3 points now

Great player but tainted from
Accusing an Umpire of cheating on national TV
Denying ever wanting the Essondon Coaching job on National TV and then straight in on the backstab of Knights
His position in the current saga.

kirbs wrote: Ricciutto is adamant Hird will go by Thursday so if that happens inside next 30 hours, but he's stayed so far and deflected all SO FAR.

For mine he is a wolf in sheeps clothing on 3 points now

Great player but tainted from
Accusing an Umpire of cheating on national TV
Denying ever wanting the Essondon Coaching job on National TV and then straight in on the backstab of Knights
His position in the current saga.

All that and a majority of the Victorian public/media still think he's a darling....go figure.